I always wondered what makes a show a soap Opera? Some that make me wonder Malibu Shores, Class of 96 and Heights even though they are more geared towards younger crew!
Soap Operas or Not
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For TV, it simply meant a continuing storyline. For movies, a lush, female-driven melodrama (like GWTW).
Now, because every show of every genre for the last 25 to 30 years has had those three elements of soap (serialized plotting, villains in key roles, and cliffhangers) the term "soap," at least for nighttime series, has mostly gone out of usage -- unless it's a drama focusing on a nuclear family (like, say, EMPIRE).
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I notice now shows are labeled as either serial dramas or primetime soap operas.
I think the main difference might be one tends to be more melodramatic with high emotional stakes while the other is more down to earth and relatable. I think if Knots Landing were to air nowadays, it would most likely not be thought of as a primetime soap opera, it would most likely be thought of as a serial drama.
I think the main difference might be one tends to be more melodramatic with high emotional stakes while the other is more down to earth and relatable. I think if Knots Landing were to air nowadays, it would most likely not be thought of as a primetime soap opera, it would most likely be thought of as a serial drama.
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Stakes are stakes, there's no difference between getting kidnapped in a soap opera and getting kidnapped in a critically acclaimed detective drama.
But the serious detective drama wil probably not use the previously unknown son of the whodunit-butler as the culprit.
And, once that kidnap-story has been over and done with, the serious detective drama will probably not have the previous kidnap-victim marry an amnesiac doppelganger of the husband (once considered to be her brother) which she had divorced twice before falling in love with him again. For no apparent reason.
As they say, the devil is in the details.
But the serious detective drama wil probably not use the previously unknown son of the whodunit-butler as the culprit.
And, once that kidnap-story has been over and done with, the serious detective drama will probably not have the previous kidnap-victim marry an amnesiac doppelganger of the husband (once considered to be her brother) which she had divorced twice before falling in love with him again. For no apparent reason.
As they say, the devil is in the details.
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The reason soaps are considered less-realistic is because they are actually more realistic, and therefore are compared more to reality and thus labeled less realistic.
In a cop show, western, or acclaimed drama, if someone gets shot in the arm, the very next week they're fine. In a soap, they're in a sling for at least two weeks.
In a cop show, western, or acclaimed drama, if someone gets shot in the arm, the very next week they're fine. In a soap, they're in a sling for at least two weeks.
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That's because the acclaimed drama doesn't have the luxury to shift the focus onto other characters.
I can even imagine that a soap character gets hospitalised because they want to put him/her on the back burner and give the attention to a new or more effective storyline.
Also, the way time works in soap is inconsistent. Two episodes can cover one day, a week or a month.
If a character in a "serious drama" ends up being incapable of contributing to the narrative then it usually is very significant to the story and not something that can be casually referred to as "no news yet".
The stand-alone adventures in classic western/cop series usually imply that signifcant time has passed between episodes, rather than having these adventures day after day after day.
And speaking of injuries, perfect-new-pretty-face plastic surgery only exists in soap opera.
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Continuining storyline, certainly. Melodramatic I think is also a requirement, but opens its own can of worms for being vaguely defined. Most shows during the era of peak or prestige TV fit the bill, but people seem to regard soaps as being disreputable and campy (another term that can't be well defined.)
So, like porn. People can't define it but they know it when they see it.
So, like porn. People can't define it but they know it when they see it.
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I've seen reviews describing nude and/or simulated sex scenes in mainstream movie/TV as "porn" - and we know that this can't be true. So we're not even agreeing on that subject.
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Michele Lee once said, "There isn't one show on TV that isn't soap, as in a continuing story." Yes, I paraphrased.
But, mostly, I agree with her. All types of shows have a continuing, ongoing narrative, with interconnecting plots and characters, love triangles, cliffhangers, plot twists, secret histories, and so on. You can find this type of TV in everything from DALLAS to THE OFFICE from LAW & ORDER: SVU to NEW GIRL.
It's everywhere.
In saying that, "soaps" are their own specific breed. As it's already been said, you might can't define it, but you know it when you see it.
But, mostly, I agree with her. All types of shows have a continuing, ongoing narrative, with interconnecting plots and characters, love triangles, cliffhangers, plot twists, secret histories, and so on. You can find this type of TV in everything from DALLAS to THE OFFICE from LAW & ORDER: SVU to NEW GIRL.
It's everywhere.
In saying that, "soaps" are their own specific breed. As it's already been said, you might can't define it, but you know it when you see it.